Possible Scotland: Summary of findings

1. Possible Scotland:Summary of findings Jim McCormick Scottish Council Foundation SURF 2020 Visions Conference Possible Scotland

2. Scope of the study: Purpose • Undertaken by SCF, with the Public Health Institute of Scotland (PHIS) and HEBS, published June 2002 • To understand how a sample of people living in Scotland make sense of the past and present • To identify their own aspirations for the next decade (self/family and Scotland) and priorities for improvement Possible Scotland

3. Scope of the study: Methods • Eight extended focus groups with adult age cohorts (participants aged 16 to 82) and two sessions with children (aged 7 and 14) • Four locations reflecting Affluent, Settled, Insecure and Excluded Scotland • Twenty in-depth interviews with sample of focus group participants • Series of stakeholder interviews and a ‘road-testing event Possible Scotland

4. Describing a Possible Scotland: Headline themes (1) • Healthy and Happy • Fully employed • Pollution-free and sustainable • Financially secure • Crime-free Possible Scotland

5. Describing a Possible Scotland: Headline themes (2) • Drug-free • Well housed • Safe and Secure • Respectful, tolerant and disciplined Possible Scotland

6. Priority areas for action (1) • Crime, Safety and Security: consistency in sentencing, curfew, violent crime • Health and Care: back to basics in NHS: clean hospitals and professional pride • Jobs and Economy: a better place to do business, work incentives, secure start for all young people, value practical skills Possible Scotland

7. Priority areas for action (2) • Drugs: tough on dealing, more and better rehab, authentic and honest education • Education: reform curriculum to enhance motivation for all, invest in practical skills, get it right first time • Environment: Invest in cleaner/cheaper public transport, incentives to recycle, renewable energy and safer public spaces Possible Scotland

8. Priority areas for action (3) • Housing: cheaper rents to improve work incentives, more quality social housing with greater mobility • Community/family support: in orderto address loss of respect, manners and community spirit. Tackle debt and encourage shorter working hours? Possible Scotland

9. Overview (1) • Identifying root causes of problems and ambitious goals for Scotland is hard • High degree of willingness to engage • Strong consensus on problems, visions and priorities for action across different groups • Some tensions: respect and authority, economic development, regulation Possible Scotland

10. Overview (2) • Assumed that government should take lead responsibility • Strong continuities with today’s agenda – incremental change • Clearest aspirations for self (travel, home, family) less so for neighbourhood and least clear for Scotland • Strongest optimism for future of self/family and Scotland, least for neighbourhood Possible Scotland

11. Stakeholder responses: Overview (1) • Level of ambition is relatively disappointing – but where’s the space for any of us to articulate aspirations? • Some hopeful signs amid the predictable • Not enough sense of learning to live with uncertainty and adapting to economic change… • …or facing up to tradeoffs in creating a better future: which societies are managing this process more successfully? Possible Scotland

12. Stakeholder responses: Overview (2) • Strong desire for consistency: but risk of levelling down and crowding out pluralism • Other people’s children seen more as a danger than a source of hope • Surprised by apparently low value attached to education as a means of progress Possible Scotland

13. Stakeholder responses: Indicators (1) • Happiness • Measures of pluralism and diversity at every level • Inequalities in income and wealth • Nimbleness of economy: small businesses thriving • Understanding of lifetime returns on investment of time and effort Possible Scotland

14. Stakeholder responses: Indicators (2) • Charitable giving: what does a Possible Scotland contribute? • International ambitions among Scottish companies • Inter-generational support and well-being of people who live alone • Measures of support for parenting • Connectedness and technical sophistication Possible Scotland

15. Stakeholder responses: Indicators (3) • Levels of personal/collective motivation to succeed, especially among young people • Quantity and quality of leisure time (including number of ‘Snowbirds’) • Vibrancy of the arts • Quality of inquiry by Parliament, not legislative ‘virility test’ Possible Scotland

16. Stakeholder responses: Actions • Think and act big: smart moves to achieve step changes in public health? • Education for citizenship and work must be active: ‘Why does the light go out in their eyes?’ • Investment at neighbourhood level: address the ‘hollow middle’ and suspicion of local government • Look outwards: promote Scotland as a place for migrants (returners and new Scots) Possible Scotland

17. Strategic Intent for a Possible Scotland • Process led by ambition, vision and values • Futures perspective • Comparative perspective • Historical perspective • Understanding of how motivation is generated and sustained • Creative as well as reflective (‘zeitgeist’) Possible Scotland